Writing New York

 

 

Credit: circuses.com

This is a picture of the elephant sculpture that PETA wanted to install in Union Square Park

Circuses are seen as wonderful attractions – trapezes, clowns, jugglers, lions and elephants coming together to do amazing tricks beyond our wildest dreams. While circuses have a glamorous side, there is also a dirty side – cruelty to animals. According to a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) fact sheet “Circuses: Three Rings of Abuse,” it documents all the decrepit working conditions that animals, especially elephants are subject to including confinement to small spaces in cages while traveling across the country up to 11 months a year in the famous Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

For example, PETA’s fact sheet states, “physical punishment has always been the standard training method for animals in circuses. It is standard practice to beat, shock, and whip animals to make them perform—over and over again—tricks that make no sense to them.”

PETA submitted a proposal in March to the Parks Department for a permit to install a baby elephant sculpture for three-four weeks in Union Square Park in May or June 2007, in protest against the harsh treatment of circus animals.

In the April 12 Community Board 5 meeting, the board voted in denial of the proposal saying, “Community Board Five questions whether the sculpture should be considered art for it would not be reviewed by the Art Commission and appears more in the nature of a political billboard.”

On the decision, Bob Chorush, the Special Projects Coordinator for PETA’s Captive Animals and Entertainment Issues, reaction is, “It seems that Community Board 5 would prefer art with no message, since it cannot be rationally argued that Harry Bliss’ rejected elephant sculpture is a message with no art. The discussion of this work was heated and prolonged speaks to the impact, influence and feelings that this work of art evokes.”

Recently, Coffee Shop, a trendy Union Square restaurant, was closed for a few days when the Department of Health slammed it with 102 health violation points, the blog Gothamist pointed out. It found issues with its inadequate hand-washing stations for food preparers, contaminated food, food utensils not properly used, ‘choking aid poster’ not displayed, plumbing problems, and other concerns.

The abrupt Coffee Shop closing has raised eyebrows. “Even if it’s done as a scare tactic for the other restaurants in the area, I agree that it’s a severe health violation. Since I live in the area, I feel personally affected by what’s been in the news lately,” said Baruch senior, Glenn Geis who lives in Alphabet City, a neighborhood that is near Union Square.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has been closing down restaurants ever since a video of rats invading a KFC/Taco Bell in Greenwich Village was released on February 26. City records show that at least 235 New York restaurants failed a health inspection in the nine days after the rats video, said the Associated Press.

With all these violations surrounding unsanitary restaurants, there is concern about whether the Health Department is trying fill overdue quotas or have began to crack down on restaurants?

The owner of Coffee Shop, Charles Milite told The New York Times that he felt the eatery was “caught in the cross hairs of this unfortunate Taco Bell Situation,” since Coffee Shop had operated for 17 years without incident.

The Parks Department and the Union Square Partnership’s plan for the renovation of the pavilion includes a seasonal restaurant inside the building, the extention of the playground space and planting trees on the 17th Street parameter. However, they have received opposition from some members of the Union Square Community Coalition who believe that the area should NOT be used for commerical use since it will inhibit public protest, one of the traditional uses of the park. They are fighting for landmark preservation. On the other hand, the Union Square Partnership, the Parks Dept, City Council members and local residents say it will enchance the park’s image. The plan has been approved by Community Board 5 twice and construction will start in fall 2008. The heated debate continues…click here to read more.